EP0795209B1 - Antennenanordnung für eine fahrzeugfensterscheibe - Google Patents

Antennenanordnung für eine fahrzeugfensterscheibe Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0795209B1
EP0795209B1 EP95938511A EP95938511A EP0795209B1 EP 0795209 B1 EP0795209 B1 EP 0795209B1 EP 95938511 A EP95938511 A EP 95938511A EP 95938511 A EP95938511 A EP 95938511A EP 0795209 B1 EP0795209 B1 EP 0795209B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antenna
antenna according
modes
signals
base element
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP95938511A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0795209A1 (de
Inventor
Keith Jeremy Twort
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
BSH Industries Ltd
Original Assignee
BSH Industries Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by BSH Industries Ltd filed Critical BSH Industries Ltd
Publication of EP0795209A1 publication Critical patent/EP0795209A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0795209B1 publication Critical patent/EP0795209B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/1271—Supports; Mounting means for mounting on windscreens
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
    • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
    • H01Q9/44—Resonant antennas with a plurality of divergent straight elements, e.g. V-dipole, X-antenna; with a plurality of elements having mutually inclined substantially straight portions

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an antenna arrangement for a vehicle window.
  • a vehicle is provided with a whip antenna which is in length a multiple of one quarter of the wavelength of the signal to be received.
  • a single vertical stub antenna may be mounted on a window, usually the rear window of the vehicle.
  • a problem with the arrangements described above is that antennas are subject to multipath reception which leads to fast fading of the signal received, which, in the case of an audio signal, causes a general "break-up" in reception.
  • Multipath reception is a consequence of signals being received by the antenna both directly from a transmission source and after reflection from different surfaces. Commonly, such surfaces include walls of building in a built-up urban environment.
  • DE-A-3619704 discloses an antenna arrangement for diversity reception on the window pane of a vehicle in which two receiving elements are disposed parallel to a ground plane formed by surrounding parts of the vehicle's bodywork.
  • An antenna comprising receiving elements and a base element the base element acting as a ground plane or as a counterpoise resonant element, each of which elements are formed of electrically-conductive material, characterised in that the receiving elements are formed as conductive strips, angled to one another and to the ground plane, and in that signals from the antenna may be derived from two outputs corresponding respectively to the sum and the difference of outputs of the receiving elements, whereby the antenna is operable in orthogonal modes when placed on a window pane.
  • the modes being suitable for providing diversity reception at high frequencies, output signals being sourced selectively from whichever mode provides the stronger output signal. This arrangement at least mitigates, the abovementioned fast fading problems associated with previously used arrangements.
  • Signals may be fed to and from the modes by means of a hybrid element, which, in operation, permits the modes to be combined without affecting the operation of the antenna itself.
  • the hybrid element may comprise a wound transformer or a conductive ring structure.
  • the ground plane may be constituted by an edge of the window or alternatively may comprise a conductive ground strip printed on the window. More preferably, a tuned conductive element is provided (to constitute a counterpoise resonant element) instead of the ground plane.
  • the antenna may have two elements symmetrically inclined about a median plane which extends normal to an centrally of the ground plane or the resonant element, as the case may be.
  • each element comprises a loop of conductive material.
  • a first end of each loop may be connected to the base element, second ends of the loops being interconnected at a common point.
  • signals may be fed to and/or from the antenna at the common point.
  • the two modes are operable separately or in combination through a hybrid element, signals being connected with the antenna through a circuit operative to combine the two modes in appropriate phase and amplitude to produce, in effect, single antenna of an optimised performance.
  • this mode of operation is particularly advantageous when the antenna is to be used to transmit signals.
  • the two modes may each exhibit resonance two or more at substantially different frequencies, so enabling reception and/or transmission of signals in different frequency bands.
  • An antenna embodying the invention may be used in combination with a switching circuit whereby the antenna is operable as an adaptive antenna system having directional characteristics variable in real time under automatic control.
  • an antenna embodying the invention is formed as a pattern of conductors printed onto a glass pane. These conductors may be formed at very low coat as part of the process whereby a heater is formed on the pane.
  • a portion of the pattern may constitutes a hybrid element, and a further portion of the pattern may constitute an impedance matching element.
  • An antenna embodying the invention may be provided as part of an antenna system in combination with another antenna.
  • the antenna of the present invention is advantageous when used as a transmission antenna.
  • a major problem associated with tranamission of high-frequency signals from vehicles arises from the interaction between the antenna and the conductive vehicle body. It has been found in practice that the nature of the interaction varies substantially from one model of vehicle to another, with the consequence that it has not hitherto been possible to produce a generic transmission antenna optimised for use in a wide range of vehicles.
  • the invention provides a transmission antenna comprising an antenna according to the first aspect of the invention, and a combining and tuning circuit, in which the combining and tuning circuit adjusts the directional and bandwidth characteristics of the antenna to the vehicle with which it is intended for use.
  • a common antenna can be used on a wide range of vehicles, it being necessary to tailor only the combining and tuning circuit to the characteristics of the vehicle.
  • a transmission antenna which has two separably operable orthogonal modes can, with suitable combining and tuning, exhibit an extremely diverse range of directional, polarisation and other characteristics.
  • Such a circuit typically imposes a phase shift or a delay in the signal fed to one of the modes with respect to the other, and which after combination ettects a relative difference in the magnitudes of the signals.
  • FIG. 1 an antenna arrangement 11 embodying the invention applied to a window 12 of a vehicle.
  • the window 12 shown is a rear window of a motor car, although it is to be understood that the invention can be applied to any suitable window of any suitable vehicle.
  • the window 12 comprises a glass pane 13 which is generally rectangular or trapezoidal (depending upon its application).
  • the pane 13 has top and bottom long edges 14,16 which typically extend approximately horizontally, and two short upright side edges 17,18.
  • the pane 13 may be flat or curved and may lie in a plane (or is curved relative to a plane) which is substantially vertical or is inclined to the vertical, as is conventional.
  • the pane 13 fits within an opening in a metal body of the vehicle and is sealed against water and air penetration relative to the periphery or the opening with a sealing gasket formed from rubber or similar material, or a suitable adhesive.
  • the pane 13 typically incorporates a heater, the prime purpose of which is to demist and defrost it, but which may also be used as an antenna for receiving radio signals.
  • the heater comprises a series of parallel, horizontal conductors 19, running between upright bus bars 21,22.
  • the conductors and bars are formed on the inner surface of the glass pane 13 for example, being applied thereto as narrow, flat, printed, conductive strips.
  • the bus bars 21,22 are connected to the d.c. power supply of the vehicle via an operating switch.
  • one bus bar is connected to the vehicle earth (i.e. the car body which is directly connected to the negative terminal of the vehicle's battery) and the other bus bar is connected by a lead to a positive supply via an operating switch which may be located for example on the vehicle dashboard.
  • the heater conductors 19 extend across a major part of the surface area of the window pane but there is a region between the top edge 14 of the window pane 13 and the uppermost heater conductor 19 in which no such heater conductors 19 are provided. In this region there are two straight antenna conductors 23,24 (see Fig. 1a) which are inclined relative to each other having an angle of substantially 90° therebetween. The antenna conductors 23,24 are also inclined relative to the upper edge 14 of the window 13 at an angle of 45°. The antenna conductors 23,24 are incorporated in or are applied to the inner surface of the pane 13, most advantageously being formed in the same manner as the heater.
  • the antenna conductors 23,24 may comprise a 0.4mm wire fixed by adhesive to the surface of the pane, or the conductors may comprise a narrow flat printed conductive strip, say 1 to 11 ⁇ 2mm wide.
  • the conductors 23,24 are relatively short being significantly shorter than the edges of the window frame.
  • each of the antenna conductors 23,24 resonates in with respect to a ground plane constituted by the conductive vehicle body adjacent the window aperture.
  • the nodes of resonance of the two antenna conductors 23,24 are substantially orthogonal.
  • FIG. 1b an alternative form of antenna arrangement is shown in which ends of the antenna conductors 23,24 remote from the edge 14 of the window are linked by a third conductor 25 forming a loop. It has been found that the provision of such a loop can advantageously modify the impedance and directional characteristics of the antenna which can otherwise not be optimal.
  • the antenna if the antenna is to be used for reception, its antenna conductors 23,24 can conveniently be connected via a hybrid transformer arrangement 50 to radio reception apparatus to act as an antenna therefor.
  • the operation of the hybrid transformer 50 is such that it combines the output from the two antenna conductors 23,24 to provide two outputs at 52 and 54 respectively which are orthogonal to one another or have a substantial orthogonal component. Additionally, it is a property of the hybrid arrangement that neither mode interacts with the other.
  • the outputs from each of the antenna conductors 23,24 are added in phase by the transformer arrangement 50 to produce r.f. current vector in the antenna at right angles to the edge 14 of the window or are subtracted out of phase to a net r.f. current vector essentially parallel to the edge 14 of the window.
  • these two phases of polarisation produce an orthogonal r.f. field, they are totally independent and thus cannot interfere with one another.
  • the stronger one of the two outputs 52,54 can be selected (for example, by a high-speed automatic charge switch controlled by a signal strength detector) to give, effectively, a diversity reception. This can reduce the effect of fast fading due to multipath propagation of the received signals.
  • Figure 3 shows one circuit arrangement 60 suitable for use when the antenna is being used to transmit signals to a remote site.
  • the inputs to one of the orthogonal modes of the antenna conductors 23, 24 are fed through a quarter-wavelength delay (in this case, a length of feeder 61 as shown in the figure) with respect to the other mode.
  • This arrangement gives a signal which is circularly or elliptically polarised and this is compatible with a wide range of polarisations of the remote site.
  • the relative phases and amplitudes of the signals fed to the two modes could be varied in other ways to effect a wide variety of directional and polarisation properties of the antenna.
  • the circuit arrangement 61 may be designed to account for the effect ot the conductive parts of the vehicle. In this manner, the performance of the antenna as a transmitting antenna can be adjusted to offer an optimised performance characteristic.
  • FIG. 4 An alternative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figure 4. This embodiment may provide a more appropriate impedance over a wider bandwidth as compared with the above described embodiment.
  • the vehicle body is only an approximation to a ground plane.
  • the deviation from a truly aperiodic ground state is sufficient to cause maloperation of the antenna due to resonances inherent in the body adjacent the antenna.
  • an aim of this embodiment is to ameliorate this effect.
  • the antenna comprises a base element 100 being a rectangular conductive strip, intended to be disposed substantially horizontally.
  • a hypothetical median plane A can be defined to intersect the base element 100 at its mid-point, and to extend normal to the base element 100.
  • First and second antenna conductors 110,112 extend from the base element 100 each at an angle of 45° to it.
  • the antenna conductors 110,112 diverge from approximately the intersection of the base element 100 and the median plane A.
  • Each of the antenna conductors 110,112 comprises a loop of conductive material.
  • a first part 116 of the loop is electrically connected to the base element 100, as at 114, and extends at 45° from it.
  • a second part 110 of the loop extends parallel to and spaced from the first part 116 to interconnect with the second part 116 of the loop of the other of the antenna conductors at a common point 120.
  • a short bridging element 122 interconnects the first and second parts 116,118 to complete the loop.
  • the common point 120 constitutes a feed point at which signals may be fed to and from the antenna.
  • a coaxial feeder (not shown) may be used, its screen being connected to the mid-point of the base element 100.
  • the base element 100 serves as a counterpoise resonant element to the antenna conductors 110,112. This effectively isolates the antenna conductors 110,112 from the effects of the vehicle body.
  • Base element 118mm x 5mm; and antenna conductors each 51mm long, 1.5mm wide, and separated by 1mm. These have been found to be applicable for use with signals in the range 870 to 960 MHZ.
  • an alternative hybrid structure is shown which can be conveniently formed as a conductive element printed on the glass in the same process in which the heater and the antenna conductors are formed.
  • the hybrid structure comprises a conductive ring 130 printed onto the glass pane 13.
  • the length of the ring is equivalent to 1.5 times the wavelength of the signals to be received when propagating in the glass of the window pane 13.
  • a signal from a first of the modes is fed into the ring through a first feed conductor 132, while a signal from a second of the modes is fed into the ring through a second feed conductor 134.
  • the first and second feed conductors 132,134 connect to the ring 130 spaced apart by a distance equal to one half of the wavelength of the signals.
  • First and second output conductors 136,138 connect to the ring 130 at, respectively, a point halfway between the first and the second feed conductors 132,134 and a point opposite the first feed conductor 132.

Landscapes

  • Details Of Aerials (AREA)
  • Radio Transmission System (AREA)
  • Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)

Claims (16)

  1. Antenne, umfassend Empfangselemente (23,24;110,112) und ein Basiselement (11;100), wobei das Basiselement (11;100) als Gegengewicht bzw. als Gegengewichtsresonanzelement fungiert, wobei jedes der Elemente (23;24;110,112, 11; 100) aus elektrisch leitendem Material gebildet ist, wobei die Empfangselemente (23;24;110,112) als leitende Streifen ausgebildet sind, die zueinander im Winkel stehen, wobei Signale von der Antenne von zwei Ausgängen (52, 54) abgenommen werden können, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Empfangselemente zum Gegengewicht in einem Winkel stehen, daß die Ausgänge (52, 54) jeweils der Summe bzw. der Differenz von Ausgängen der Empfangselemente (23,24;110,112) entsprechen, wodurch die Antenne in orthononalen Modi arbeiten kann, wenn sie an einer Fensterscheibe angebracht ist.
  2. Antenne nach Anspruch 1, bei der das Basiselement angrenzend an die Fensterscheibe aus einem Bereich aus leitendem Material (11) besteht.
  3. Antenne nach Anspruch 1, bei der das Basiselement aus einem leitenden Element (100) an der Fensterscheibe besteht.
  4. Antenne nach einem der vorangegangenen Ansprüche, bei der die beiden Empfangselemente (23,24;110,112) symmetrisch um eine Medianebene geneigt sind, wobei die Medianebene je nach Fall das Gegengewicht oder das Resonanzelement (11;100) in seinem Halbierungspunkt normal schneidet.
  5. Antenne nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 3, bei der jedes Empfangselement (110,112) eine Schleife aus leitendem Material umfaßt.
  6. Antenne nach Anspruch 5, bei der ein erstes Ende einer jeden Schleife mit dem Basiselement (100) verbunden ist und zweite Enden einer jeden Schleife an einem gemeinsamen Punkt (120) miteinander verbunden sind.
  7. Antenne nach Anspruch 6, bei der Signale am gemeinsamen Punkt (120) der Antenne zu- und/oder von der Antenne weggeführt werden.
  8. Antenne nach einem der vorangegangenen Ansprüche, bei der die beiden Modi getrennt oder in Kombination durch ein Hvbridelement (50,130) arbeiten können, wobei Signale mit der Antenne durch eine Schaltung verbunden werden können, die die Funktion erfüllt, die beiden Modi in angemessener Phase und Amplitude zu kombinieren, um praktisch eine einzige Antenne mit optimierter Leistung zu ergeben.
  9. Antenne nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 6, bei der ein Selektionsmittel vorgesehen ist, um dafür zu sorgen, daß ein Ausgangssignal von dem Modus genommen wird, der das stärkere Signal erzeugt.
  10. Antenne nach einem der vorangegangenen Ansprüche, bei der die beiden Modi jeweils zwei oder mehr im wesentlichen unterschiedliche Resonanzfrequenzen aufweisen.
  11. Antenne nach einem der vorangegangenen Ansprüche in Kombination mit einer Kombinationsschaltung (50,130), wodurch die Antenne als selbstanpassendes Antennensystem arbeiten kann, das Richtungs- und/oder Polarisationscharakteristika aufweist, die in Echtzeit unter automatischer Steuerung veränderbar sind.
  12. Antenne nach einem der vorangegangenen Ansprüche. die als Muster aus Leitern ausgebildet ist, das auf eine Glasscheibe gedruckt ist, die ein Fenster (12) eines Kraftfahrzeugs bildet.
  13. Antenne nach Anspruch 12, bei der ein Abschnitt des Musters ein Hybridelement (130) darstellt.
  14. Antenne nach Anspruch 11 oder 12, bei der ein Abschnitt (25) des Musters ein Impedanzanpassungselement darstellt.
  15. Antennensystem, umfassend eine Antenne nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche in Kombination mit einer weiteren Antenne.
  16. Übertragungsantenne, umfassend eine Antenne nach Anspruch 12 und eine Abstimmschaltung, die die Charakteristika der Antenne mit dem Fahrzeug abstimmt, für das sie verwendet werden soll.
EP95938511A 1994-12-01 1995-11-30 Antennenanordnung für eine fahrzeugfensterscheibe Expired - Lifetime EP0795209B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9424279A GB9424279D0 (en) 1994-12-01 1994-12-01 Antenna arrangement for a vehicle window
GB9424279 1994-12-01
PCT/GB1995/002800 WO1996017399A1 (en) 1994-12-01 1995-11-30 Antenna arrangement for a vehicle window

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0795209A1 EP0795209A1 (de) 1997-09-17
EP0795209B1 true EP0795209B1 (de) 1999-11-03

Family

ID=10765282

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP95938511A Expired - Lifetime EP0795209B1 (de) 1994-12-01 1995-11-30 Antennenanordnung für eine fahrzeugfensterscheibe

Country Status (9)

Country Link
US (1) US6452557B1 (de)
EP (1) EP0795209B1 (de)
JP (1) JPH10510113A (de)
KR (1) KR100349263B1 (de)
BR (1) BR9509926A (de)
DE (1) DE69513195T2 (de)
ES (1) ES2140721T3 (de)
GB (1) GB9424279D0 (de)
WO (1) WO1996017399A1 (de)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19726420A1 (de) * 1997-06-23 1998-12-24 Fuba Automotive Gmbh Fensterantennenstruktur für Kraftfahrzeuge
KR101269252B1 (ko) * 2004-07-21 2013-05-29 아사히 가라스 가부시키가이샤 자동차용 고주파 유리 안테나
DE102004045109A1 (de) * 2004-09-17 2006-03-23 Robert Bosch Gmbh Verfahren zum mobilen Empfangen eines, insbesondere frequenzmodulierten, Funksignals und Funkempfänger-Schaltung hierfür
US8350766B2 (en) * 2004-11-01 2013-01-08 Asahi Glass Company, Limited Antenna-embedded laminated glass
US9065167B2 (en) 2011-09-29 2015-06-23 Broadcom Corporation Antenna modification to reduce harmonic activation
WO2013063207A1 (en) 2011-10-28 2013-05-02 Corning Incorporated Glass articles with infrared reflectivity and methods for making the same
CN107531562B (zh) 2015-04-30 2021-05-28 康宁股份有限公司 具有离散的金属银层的导电制品及其制造方法
EP3611795B1 (de) * 2017-04-12 2022-06-15 Central Glass Company, Limited Antenne und fensterglas

Family Cites Families (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5148907Y1 (de) * 1970-03-04 1976-11-25
US3945014A (en) * 1970-03-21 1976-03-16 Saint-Gobain Industries Windshield antenna with coupling network in the leadin
IT1041018B (it) * 1975-07-24 1980-01-10 Siv Soc Italiana Vetro Antenna radioricevente multibanda supportata su lastra perfinestratura
US4129874A (en) 1977-09-19 1978-12-12 The United States Of America As Represented By The Field Operations Bureau Of The Federal Communications Commission Antenna pattern combiner
JPS61265904A (ja) 1985-05-20 1986-11-25 Toyota Motor Corp 自動車用窓ガラスアンテナ
DE3619704A1 (de) * 1986-06-12 1987-12-17 Lindenmeier Heinz Antennenanordnung fuer diversityempfang in der fensterscheibe eines kraftfahrzeugs
DE3738226C2 (de) 1987-11-11 1997-12-18 Bosch Gmbh Robert Fahrzeug-Scheibenantenne
DE3824417A1 (de) 1988-07-19 1990-01-25 Bosch Gmbh Robert Fahrzeug-scheibenantenne
GB9103737D0 (en) 1991-02-22 1991-04-10 Pilkington Plc Antenna for vehicle window
JP2538140B2 (ja) * 1991-06-28 1996-09-25 セントラル硝子株式会社 車両用ガラスアンテナ

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9424279D0 (en) 1995-01-18
JPH10510113A (ja) 1998-09-29
EP0795209A1 (de) 1997-09-17
ES2140721T3 (es) 2000-03-01
KR980700703A (ko) 1998-03-30
WO1996017399A1 (en) 1996-06-06
BR9509926A (pt) 1997-09-30
KR100349263B1 (ko) 2004-05-27
US6452557B1 (en) 2002-09-17
DE69513195D1 (de) 1999-12-09
DE69513195T2 (de) 2000-06-15

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